The only menu I've seen from Addison so far is on the SD Restaurant website. A quick glance looks like it's along the lines of Arterra, Market, AR Valentien-ish style. I think their prix fixe is $40 for the week.

Although we always have a rule for restaurant week not to go anywhere we've been before, We always end up at Tapenade. Last year we did Tapenade, Chive, Mr A's, and Pampelmoose. Did not leave anywhere without dropping $200. Went a little French heavy, but all places did a good job, overall I was impressed. I use restaurant week as an excuse to spend a little more on wine, because of the precieved deal on Food. I would pick a place you've been meaning to try and have not.

You see, we are all students (all under 21) who really don't have a clue about haute cuisine. We are used to hole in the walls, etc. So we are really looking to be impressed and dazzled. Hope that helps.

use your tastebuds in a different way than the ethnic, hole in the wall places guide you. haute cuisine shouuld be fresh, creative and above all, tantalize your tastebuds in a different way that great ethinic foods do. a close second for haute cuisine is great service--attentive but not intrusive service, picking up and refolding your napkins when you leave for the bathroom (an extra plus), refilling your drinks before you notice it needs refilling, friendly and knowledgeable info about their menu.

I'd strongly 2nd Parallel 33 for you, based on the posts and type of food you like. They do fusion food based on all the countries on the 33rd parallel around the globe, and they do it well! Plus, it's not nearly as formal as say, AR Valentien, Arterra, Mister A's or Mille Fleurs. In other words, if you walked in there with a nice pair of jeans or khakis, nice shirt and closed toe shoes, you'll feel quite comfortable.

Ah, but you're not too young to learn about haute cuisine. Even if you can only afford to go to one place at either the $30 or $40 range you owe it to yourself for the experience. It would give you a chance to dress up a bit and put those manners your parent tried to teach you to good use without having them watching over your shoulder :-).

IIRC you're at UCSD? which isn't too terribly far from La Jolla or Del Mar where there are some good choices for Restaurant Week. Nine-Ten isn't intimidating and the food is usually pretty darned good. Parallel 33 isn't intimidating either.

It's worth the time and worth the money becuase it will expose you to something all your classes can't.

here is a list of the restaurants which are participating who take reservations through Open Table. It looks like the regular website's domain expired or something? Weird. Anyway - we have reservations at A.R. Valentien and 1500 Ocean - two places that we haven't been that I'm curious about.

I agree with Daantaat's recommendations above, having viewed the list myself and having eaten at many of the places she listed. If the restaurants aren't on Open Table, you'll have to call for a reservation, and you can ask about the menu at that time. I do recall that El Bizcocho's menu sounded really good - that's one of the ones we looked at.